Antibiotic prophylaxis in veterinary cancer chemotherapy: A review and recommendations.

Bacterial infection following cancer chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in human and veterinary patients. Antimicrobial prophylaxis is controversial in the human oncology field, as any decreased incidence in bacterial infections is countered by patient adverse effects and increased antimicrobial resistance. Comprehensive guidelines exist to aid human oncologists in prescribing antimicrobial prophylaxis but similar recommendations are not available in veterinary literature.

Convergence of plasmid architectures drives emergence of multi-drug resistance in a clonally diverse Escherichia coli population from a veterinary clinical care setting.

The purpose of this study was to determine the plasmid architecture and context of resistance genes in multi-drug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli strains isolated from urinary tract infections in dogs. Illumina and single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing were applied to assemble the complete genomes of E. coli strains associated with clinical urinary tract infections, which were either phenotypically MDR or drug susceptible.

Type III Secretion-Dependent Sensitivity of Escherichia coli O157 to Specific Ketolides.

A subset of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens uses a type III secretion system (T3SS) to open up a conduit into eukaryotic cells in order to inject effector proteins. These modulate pathways to enhance bacterial colonization. In this study, we screened established bioactive compounds for any that could repress T3SS expression in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157.

Prophylactic use of antimicrobials in surgical pig models; a literature review (2012-2014).

There are no guidelines for antimicrobial use in experimental animals even though appropriate selection is required to reduce risk of surgical site infection (SSI) and resistance development. Pigs are used extensively as experimental surgical models for people. This review compares reported antimicrobial prescription in recently published pig surgical studies (retrieved by PubMed, Web of Knowledge and Google Scholar) with human guidelines for prophylactic antimicrobial use (National Institute of Clinical Excellence and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists).

The long-acting COX-2 inhibitor mavacoxib (Trocoxil™) has anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on canine cancer cell lines and cancer stem cells in vitro.

Background: The NSAID mavacoxib (Trocoxcil™) is a recently described selective COX-2 inhibitor used for the management of inflammatory disease in dogs. It has a long plasma half-life, requiring less frequent dosing and supporting increased owner compliance in treating their dogs. Although the use of NSAIDs has been described in cancer treatment in dogs, there are no studies to date that have examined the utility of mavacoxib specifically.

Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli from canine urinary tract infections tend to have commensal phylotypes, lower prevalence of virulence determinants and ampC-replicons.

Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli is an emerging clinical challenge in domestic species. Treatment options in many cases are limited. This study characterized MDR E.

Characterisation and differentiation potential of bone marrow derived canine mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have potential for use in regenerative therapeutics, since they are capable of multi-lineage differentiation. In this study, primary canine MSCs (cMSCs) were isolated from bone marrow aspirates and characterised using marker expression and morphology. cMSCs expressed CD44 and STRO-1, but not CD34 or CD45.

Nanocrystalline silver dressing and subatmospheric pressure therapy following neoadjuvant radiation therapy and surgical excision of a feline injection site sarcoma.

Unlabelled: CLINICAL SUMMARY: This is the first clinical report of use of a combination of nanocrystalline silver and subatmospheric pressure therapy to treat a resistant wound infection, following tumour removal and radiation therapy, in a difficult-to-manage surgical site in a cat.

Practical Relevance: The therapy was well tolerated and the authors suggest it is a valid treatment protocol for management of non-healing or infected wounds in the cat.

Cardiac specific gene expression changes in long term culture of murine mesenchymal stem cells.

Murine MSCs are a readily available source of adult stem cells enabling extensive in vitro study of this cell population. MSCs have been described as multipotent, and have been proven capable of differentiation into several connective tissue types. Furthermore some studies have suggested an ability to differentiate into non-connective tissue cell types such as the cardiomyocyte.

Stem cells and veterinary medicine: tools to understand diseases and enable tissue regeneration and drug discovery.

New sophisticated laboratory techniques, as well as established interactions between basic science, researchers and veterinarians, have led to an exponential increase in our understanding of the animal body in health and disease. The advent of animal cloning, the identification and characterization of stem cells, and publication of the various mammalian genomes has afforded the opportunity to exploit these technologies to better understand disease and develop new therapies. In human medicine, these medical advances are already being translated into clinical practice, the promise being that previously untreatable or incurable chronic diseases will become a thing of the past.

Characterisation and cardiac directed differentiation of canine adult cardiac stem cells.

This study describes the isolation and characterisation of adult canine cardiac stem cells, and explores their ability to differentiate into cardiac myocytes. Direct comparisons are also made with available human data. Atrial cardiac explants were taken from dogs post-mortem and cultured to isolate adult stem cells.

The cloning and functional analysis of canine matrix metalloproteinase-13 gene promoter.

A fragment of the 5' untranslated region corresponding to the canine matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), collagenase-3 gene promoter has been isolated and characterized in rat cardiocytes to investigate the role of MMP-13 in cardiac disease. The promoter fragment (1.5 kb) demonstrated regions of sequence homology with the collagenase gene promoter sequences already determined for other species.

An alpha(1A)/alpha(1L)-adrenoceptor mediates contraction of canine subcutaneous resistance arteries.

To determine the characteristics of the alpha(1)-adrenoceptor subtypes involved in adrenergic regulation of peripheral vascular resistance, contraction of canine subcutaneous resistance arteries was studied using wire myographs. The potencies of agonists and antagonists, chosen for their ability to discriminate between alpha(1)-adrenoceptor subtypes, were assessed in the presence of cocaine (3 microM), corticosterone (30 microM), and propranolol (1 microM). The rank order of agonist potency (pEC(50) +/- S.

Alterations in vascular reactivity in isolated vessel segments from dogs with naturally occurring heart failure.

To investigate if functional vascular reactivity is altered in heart failure, the reactivity of isolated canine saphenous vein (SV) and femoral artery (FA) rings, from control dogs and dogs with naturally occurring heart failure was examined. In both vessels, relaxation responses to the endothelium-dependent vasodilator, acetylcholine were unaffected by heart failure. In the FA, in heart failure, there was a significant reduction in the potency of the agonist noradrenaline (pEC(50)6.

Apparent bypass of negative selection in CD8+ tumours in CD2-myc transgenic mice.

A role for antigen stimulation in lymphoid neoplasia has been postulated and is supported by indirect evidence that suggests that the interaction of antigen with both T cells and B cells may constitute an epigenetic event that can contribute to tumour induction or tumour progression. Using myc-bearing transgenic mice that develop mainly clonal T-cell lymphomas we have investigated the possibility that endogenous antigen-mediated clonal deletion might be overridden in tumorigenesis. CD2-myc transgenic mice were backcrossed on to a CBA/Ca background to ensure Mtv-mediated deletion of V beta 11-expressing T cells in the resultant offspring.